| You may know D.C. pastry chef Paola Velez for her viral plantain sticky buns. Or as the co-founder of Bakers Against Racism. Maybe from cooking shows with Selena Gomez or Zooey Deschanel. Or as one of nearly 90K followers of her delightful, often zany Instagram. But if you don't know the Bronx-born, Afro-Latina all-star, you will, intimately, through her first cookbook: "Bodega Bakes," available Oct. 1. Why it matters: Velez is one-of-a-kind, and her cookbook joyfully dances the line between personal and accessible, filled with 100 Caribbean American recipes often inspired by bodega ingredients. Flashback: Velez, a classically trained savory chef, never planned on pastry — until she craved free evenings to start dating. "Very not serious at all," she tells Axios. - But it worked. Those self-taught sticky buns are now in Nordstrom cafes nationwide (and she's married to her longtime husband Hector).
- She also didn't plan on becoming an activist, or a celebrity. Growing up "a total nerd," she most related to Steve Urkel on "Family Matters."
Velez evolved into all of the above in Washington, starting with a break at Milk Bar's first D.C. location, followed by leading pastry at award magnets like Maydan and Kith & Kin. - When the pandemic hit and she was laid off, Velez launched a Dominican-style doughnut pop-up to help raise money for Ayuda, a D.C. nonprofit that provides legal, language and social services for immigrants.
- That sweets-for-good mindset avalanched into Bakers Against Racism, the social justice collective that's raised millions worldwide. (Velez still runs it, though she's on a cookbook hiatus.)
Bake the book. Photos: Courtesy of MarketingHero The intrigue: Velez never wanted to write a cookbook. "A lot of pastry books, they're fluffy and cute — and then they end up in clearance," she tells Axios. "I didn't want that for me." - When publishers came knocking, she realized she had stories to tell, about the Bronx, her mother, Dominican cakes for joy and mourning.
- Also, a sweet balance of self-taught talent and professional experience that shines in her recipes — from guava lemon bars to dulce de leche babkas, Dominican pan de agua and crispy-gooey "thick 'em cookies."
The big picture: "Bodega Bakes" is among a new wave of breakout pastry books from immigrant chefs rarely represented in the culinary cannon, like Abi Balingit's "Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed." - As she writes in her book, Velez wanted to share Dominican flavors and traditions, and how she uses them "to explore questions of family, diaspora, community, love, sacrifice, and change."
- "Yes, there's a lot of weight on my shoulders to represent and do all of this stuff — the Dominican Embassy has me on speed dial — but this is a new age of culinary," she says.
Zoom in: Accessibility is a throughline. While there are decadent, multistep recipes like passion fruit and guava mascarpone tart, there are also simple quickies like Washington Heights ice pops and ingredients like soda or cookies you might find at a corner store. - And if you want to tackle said tart but don't have a stand mixer, Velez has instructions for using a hand mixer (or simply your hands).
She imagines writing for a kid like her in the Bronx: "I don't have a lot of access to anything, but now I can learn, even if I can't afford measuring spoons, a mixer, etc." - "And then that kid might be the one hiring me one day."
What's next: Velez will launch her nationwide cookbook tour in D.C. next Sunday (Sept. 29) at a party at the Riggs Hotel featuring a conversation with fellow pastry star Isabel Coss. - Tickets are $58 and include a signed copy.
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